Sex trade regains grounds in Goa Armstrong Vaz, 11 May 2008, Sunday "THE SEX trade in Baina, against which an onslaught was launched in 2004 by the then state government, has raised its ugly face again. A visit to Baina beach reveals that business of soliciting customers is still going on. Around 30 commercial sex workers in the age group of 20 to 30 years are working there," says a report in the Goan daily newspaper. Michael, his wife Shanti and their three-year-old son Krishna enjoy the sun and surf on the beaches of Goa. They have returned after a five-year stay away. Michael and his family have come back to their roots where the offshoots of their small family sprouted.
Michael is a Belgium citizen. Shanti traces her roots to the southern state of Karnataka and was until five years ago a sex worker in the red light district of Baina in the port town of Vasco in the state of Goa. But her life took a new twist when her last customer in the course of time became her husband. Shanti has been fortunate. Others have been less fortunate. Many of Shanti's former colleagues continue to be exploited and to lead a life of misery. Human trafficking has been a cause of concern throughout the world. India figures among the 39 countries placed on a special watch list that demands attention from the concerned countries under a 2003 United States (US) law. Goa was one of the beneficiaries of a two-year US government funded program by the United Nations Office on drugs and crime. Similar programs took place in the states of Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The program sensitises the police and the other law enforcement agencies in dealing with the problem of human trafficking. Five years earlier, Shanti used to earn anything between 100 and 500 Indian rupees a day as a commercial sex worker. She endured and wishes to reach out to some of her old friends. She was on a visit to her old place of business. A host of changes had taken place in the city. In 2004, the state government had demolished the illegal cubicles where Shanti and her colleagues operated on Baina Beach. Some of her colleagues had been deported back to their home states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Others have eluded the police and continue to operate in the port town. Some have even been successfully rehabilitated back into society. There are those who have died due to aids. And there are those who are carrying the HIV virus. More at: http://india.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=133847 ~(^^)~ Avelino